The Prayerful Spirit: Passion for God, Compassion for People

By James P. Gills

Book Description:Faithful. Fervent. Focused. Does that describe your prayer life? In The Prayerful Spirit, Dr. James P. Gills tells us how prayer has changed his life, how it has changed the lives of other doctors and their patients, and how it can change your life. “Prayer is, I believe, the most interesting subject in the universe, and one that produces, strangely, a lot of dull books. Dr. Gills’ book is a compelling statement on a compelling subject. As I read it, I kept thinking, This is good, solid, basic, biblical, interesting. The emphasis on physicians and prayer is especially good. Read it!” -Bill Anderson, Senior Minister, Calvary Baptist Church, Clearwater, Florida “Jim Gills is a beloved friend, a magnificent servant of Christ, and a powerful witness.” -Chuck Colson, Chairman of Prison Fellowship Ministries

About the author:

James P. Gills, M.D. has earned a reputation as the most experienced cataract surgeon in the world. He is the founder and medical director of the renowned St. Luke's Cataract & Laser Institute in Tarpon Springs, Florida. Dr. Gills has dedictaed his life to restoring much more than physical version. His not-for-profit publishing outreach, Love Press, has ditributed well over three million copies of his books on a donation basis through LoveLines: The Honor Innovation.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Creation House
• Release date: Jun 14, 2012
• ISBN: 9781616387327

Book preview

THE

PRAYERFUL

SPIRIT

JAMES P. GILLS, M.D.

THE PRAYERFUL SPIRIT by James P. Gills, M.D.

Published by Creation House

A Charisma Media Company

600 Rinehart Road

Lake Mary, FL 32746

www.charismamedia.com

This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission of the publishers, except as provided by United States of America copyright law.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Cover design by Terry Clifton

Copyright © 2003 by James P. Gills, M.D.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2003101123

International Standard Book Number: 978-1-59185-215-5

E-book International Standard Book Number: 978-1-61638-732-7

08 09 10 11 12 —8 7 6 5 4 3

Printed in the United States of America

This book is dedicated to all of us as we joyfully

align ourselves to our Savior and to His work.

Acknowledgments

This book would not have been possible without the inspiration and encouragement of many people. First, I would like to thank all those who contributed their time, energy, and thoughts about prayer: Dr. William Farr Andrews of Germantown, Tennessee; Dr. James A. Avery of Clearwater, Florida; Dr. Juan F. Batlle of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; Dr. Henry Brandt of Riviera Beach, Florida; Dr. Jack C. Cooper of Dallas, Texas; Dr. Dennis Cox of New Port Richey, Florida; Chaplain Ralph A. Curtis of St. Petersburg, Florida; Dr. Timothy N. Daley of Palm Harbor, Florida; Mickey Evans of the Dunklin Memorial Camp, Okeechobee, Florida; Dr. Hal E. Furr of Salisbury, North Carolina; Dr. Lowell A. Gess of Alexandria, Minnesota; Dr. Tom Goodgame of Clearwater, Florida; Dr. William Hale of Clearwater, Florida; the late Dr. William H. Havener; Dr. Ronald E. Haynes of Palm Harbor, Florida; Dr. Ralph E. Johnson of St. Petersburg, Florida; Dr. Peter Knight of Tampa, Florida; Dr. Gerald E. Lane of Gardner, Kansas; Dr. John McCormick of Toronto; Dr. Dan G. Montgomery of Inverness, Florida; Dr. James B. Morris of Palm Harbor, Florida; Dr. Robert H. Osher of Cincinnati, Ohio; Dr. Walter Tuck Parkerson of Charlotte, North Carolina; Dr. Walter J. Paschall of Tyler, Texas; Dr. William Standish Reed of Tampa, Florida; Dr. David P. Sloan Jr., of Leesburg, Florida; Dr. Al Thomas of Hot Springs, Arkansas; Dr. Spencer Thornton of Nashville, Tennessee; Dr. Elizabeth Vaughn of Dallas, Texas; and Dr. John V. Verner of Plant City, Florida.

I would like to extend a special thanks to Dr. J. James Rowsey, of St. Luke’s Cataract and Laser Institute, and to Dr. J. Lawton Smith. Jim has provided a special inspiration as I have worked on this book, and Lawton has given me direction and advice that I hope benefits not only myself but those who read these pages.

The lives of all these doctors give testimony to the power of God and the special relationship each of us can have with Him through prayer. The blessings He has bestowed on these doctors and their patients bear witness to His greatness and grace.

The staff members at St. Luke’s Cataract and Laser Institute have generously provided much encouragement and direction.

David A. Seamands, the author of numerous books about Christians in recovery, has given much advice through hours of discussion on this important topic.

And a special thanks to my wife, Heather. Her ceaseless love and insight help me see more clearly the heart of God.

Contents

PROLOGUE

PART ONE: THE PRIORITY OF PRAYER

1 WHAT IS PRAYER?

2 PREPARING TO PRAY

3 PUTTING GOD FIRST

4 PRAYER IN PRACTICE

5 A BALANCED APPROACH

PART TWO: HEARTS INCLINED TO GOD

6 ROADBLOCKS TO PRAYER

7 DIFFERING VIEWS OF GOD

8 THE DEVELOPING PRAYER LIFE

9 A NEW LIFE

10 FAMILY FELLOWSHIP

11 JOY IN THE WORKPLACE

12 TRANSFORMED BY PRAYER

PART THREE: POWER IN PRAYER

13 PRACTICING MEDICINE AND PRAYER

14 PRAYING TOGETHER

15 PRAYER AND HEALING

16 WITNESSES TO GOD’S POWER

17 A PRECIOUS POSSESSION

BENEDICTION

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Prologue

Every morning when I wake up, my eyes focus on a plaque with a quote from Mother Teresa of Calcutta. It says, A life not lived for others is not worth living. It is a reminder of my constant objective: to be faithful, fervent, and focused—first in my relationship with God and then in my relationships with others.

To me, those three F’s are vitally important. They help me balance my spiritual life with the reality of the world in which we live. They help me as I make choices every day about whether to honor and serve my Redeemer. They help me set my priorities in every area of my life—my work, my family, my friends—so that I keep the Lord first, being in the habit of turning to Him every day, every moment, whether waking or sleeping.

But how do I do that? The key is prayer—not just the rote prayer I learned as a child—but a deep, rich, full, meaningful relationship with my Creator and Redeemer. I engage in intimate communication with the Lord through prayer because I believe that God understands my concerns. I know that He surrounds me with His presence. Andrew Bonar, a key figure in the revivals in Scotland in the 1840s, tells us to measure your days by what you’ve accomplished in prayer. Prayer is the means by which I stay faithful, fervent, and focused.

I start my day by focusing on the blessings I have received. The first of these is my wife, Heather. Every morning I ask the Lord to bless each part of her body. I pray that He will bless her head and mouth, her arms and hands, her heart and lungs, her legs and feet. I ask for Heather’s whole being to be lifted up as a blessing to and from God. And she does the same with me. Throughout my day, I thank God for all the blessings He has bestowed on me, and I praise His name. As Psalm 71:8 says, My mouth is filled with your praise, declaring your splendor all day long.

One spring morning, we sat for an entire hour contemplating how difficult it is to pray. We simply turned to the Scriptures and read the twenty-third Psalm. The concept of the Lord being our shepherd was more than we could grasp. Everything in our environment tells us to be productive and to make decisions, but the Lord tells us to be quiet and to let His words guide our actions.

There are times when I dry up and forget to pray—times when I am too busy to spend that hour in prayer. Those are the times when I lose focus and things begin to go wrong. Prayer is the way of living through our problems. We do not have to tackle every problem on our own. When we pray, we are reminded that God is with us.

The Scriptures tell us that unceasing prayer will change our lives. As my faith walk with the Lord has matured, those changes have been revealed to me in many areas—my marriage, my family, and most definitely, in my work and my relationships with patients.

My colleagues’ experiences with prayer have helped shape my own spiritual journey and the ideas I share in this book. I have asked some of them to share their experiences in their own prayer lives and as they pray with their patients and others.

Doctors know a lot about commitment when it comes to work. They have committed to long hours and are dedicated to their patients. Making that kind of commitment to prayer doesn’t seem as productive.

Prayer is tough. It is easier to put money in the plate; it is easier to tithe; it is easier to work for the Lord; it is easier to be a missionary or a pastor than to pray and pray unceasingly.

But as shown by my colleagues’ stories, prayer gives us access to the power of God. People are healed and lives are changed. Prayer aligns us with God and gives us greater peace, joy, and fulfillment than anything we could seek.

Part One

THE PRIORITY OF PRAYER

Chapter One

WHAT IS PRAYER?

Be still, and know that I am God.

—PSALM 46:10

To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul; in you I trust, O my God.

—PSALM 25:1–2

Prayer is a conversation of the heart with God. Through prayer we align ourselves with our Creator, and His presence is revealed to us. We grow in our love and worship of Him. And when we are united with our Lord through prayer, our lives become fuller, richer, more joyous, and more peaceful.

Having a spirit of prayer is one of the most important factors in our walk with Christ. We must be meditative and contemplative while listening to Him speak. Then our lives are changed. When we pray in the Spirit, we can be in prayer at any time, not just our prayer time. We are praying as we work, as we play, as we spend time alone, and as we spend time with friends and family.

A good prayer life, in my estimation, is being aware of God’s presence and being transparent with Him about what I am experiencing, says Dr. Dennis Cox of New Port Richey, Florida. Sometimes that involves a formal audible prayer, but more often it is a thought life that is shared with God.

I heard a pastor in Clearwater, Florida, recently talk about our godly relationships. He said the only thing we’ll be judged on is how we relate to others on a godly basis. We need to ask ourselves whether our relationships at work and at home are godly. Prayer helps us examine our relationship with our Creator and helps us focus on our relationships with others, intending that they indeed are godly.

Prayer helps us know the heart of our Lord and His desires for our lives. I heard an interesting statement: We see what we are programmed to see. In other words, we set our minds in such a way as to get out of things only what we want to get out of them.

But when we are constantly seeking our Lord in prayer, we align ourselves with His wishes and desires. We are no longer programmed to see what we want, but we see what God wants. We turn over control of our lives to Him and do His will. In prayer, we pour out to Him our joys, our anguish and petitions for others, and ourselves. And, by faith, we know He hears and responds to our cries.

Leonard Ravenhill has written, Prayer must have priority. Prayer must be our bolt to lock up the night, our key to open the day. Prayer is the single most important action we can take to know God, to be in union with Him. If we don’t have a good prayer life, our priorities get mixed up.

Charles H. Spurgeon, a nineteenth-century Baptist minister in England, once asked:

Why is it that some people are often in a place of worship and yet they’re not holy? It is because they neglect their [prayer] closets. They love the wheat, but they do not grind it; they would have the corn, but they will not go forth into the field to gather it; the fruit hangs on the tree, but they will not pluck it; and the water flows at their feet, but they’ll not stoop to drink it.

If we neglect our prayer life, we lose sight of our Lord, and we become proud and arrogant people who think we don’t need God. Prayer, therefore, sets us straight and keeps us safe in our Lord.

The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

—PSALM 18:2

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